Book lovers prepare to be delighted. Amazon’s next Kindle: The Oasis, is finally out and true to all the reports and rumors folks, the eBook reader is shaping up to be pretty awesome, except of course for the price point.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s announcement of an 8th generation Kindle last week was shortly followed by an accidental leak from Tmall.com’s official Kindle page. Well the leak seems to have had hit the hammer on the head on most of the points, except a solar charging back panel.

First of all, the new reader is thinner, like really thin from most of its previous variants. The reader measures a meagre 3.4 mm at its thinnest point and can be held up easily in one hand. The Oasis is also almost 20 percent lighter than any other Kindle version at just 4.6 ounces.

However, the definite USP of the reader lies in its handle. The Oasis features a handle like grip on one of its sides, that can be used to grip the eBook reader while you are reading, giving you the feel of holding the spine of a book. The reader can be flipped to either side so that you can grip and read with either your left hand or your right.

Interestingly, the company has brought back buttons with this edition of Kindle. The device features a couple for changing between the pages, although the touch works just as well. The company has put down ‘popular demand’ as it’s reason behind bringing the buttons back.

The device also has Amazon’s signature 300 PPI screen, that feels — or reads — very similar to paper, and has a backlight in the side of the device, for nighttime reading. Now there is something you won’t find on tour normal paperbacks!

The device also has a much better battery life now — however, rumors of a back panel that could be charged by sunlight, have proved to be false. While on its own, the Oasis can last for as long as two weeks, adding the charging cover that has been included with the device, can let you enjoy a battery life of as long as a couple of months. Meanwhile, Both the device and the cover can be charged simultaneously — so no hassles there either.

The device is expected to start shipping within a few weeks and will cost readers $289 and $369, for Wi-Fi and 3G versions respectively. While the device is significantly pricier than its predecessors, Amazon probably hopes that the less weight, along with the greater comfort will make up for the change in the price tag.